


Lovestruck Marathons & Precious Dreams

by Yuetchi



Category: Gakkou Gurashi!, School-Live!, がっこうぐらし! | Gakkou Gurashi! | School-Live!
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Mild Language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-28
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2018-10-25 00:20:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10752801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yuetchi/pseuds/Yuetchi
Summary: KuruMiki centered, with some romantic feelings from others implied. A mundane AU setting about two ordinary students and their friends at Megurigaoka Private High School. A junior and a senior who don't even know each other. No big deal, right? Right?





	1. Daily Rhythm

**Author's Note:**

> This work is being completed at my own pace, which means I don't have the energy to work on it a lot of the time. If you become invested, please be patient and understand there may be inconsistent numbers of months between each submission.  
> Notes to consider: Yuki Takeya's characterization is based off of what was implied about her behavior before the outbreak in the series occurred. So she's less energetic and loud, and more withdrawn and tends to only be more open towards her immediate friends.   
> The alternate universe this story takes place in is a "mundane setting," which is to say, it's a plot where the outbreak doesn't occur.

Sunny and clear. What an ideal day. Even if there was still a good chill in the air from the late stages of winter’s season, a clear day was rare, and a nice sight to behold.

“Stop daydreaming, Miki.”

Ah…oh. Miki blinked, turning her head to take a brief look at her classmate and best friend, Kei Shidou, nearby and gathering the last of the litter by the track.

“Geez…I don’t want to weed all this…worse even, my best friend is over there daydreaming and leaving me to do it on my own.”

How overdramatic. Miki rolled her eyes and walked over to Kei, before picking up the trash bag and holding it open for her.

“Aren’t you being a little overdramatic? Don’t tell me you’re getting interested in acting.”

That comment managed to pull a small laugh out of Kei. The rest of their classmates were scattered about the field, doing the same as them. Cleaning. As unsavory as the task could be, at least being able to do it with company rather than by yourself was a lot more bearable. The exclamations of a nearby third year class could be heard—they were sharing the field with their P.E. class, though the teacher made a fine point of insisting his students focus on cleaning and not wasting time distracting their seniors from their tasks.

“I can’t tell if I’d rather be inside with my face in our textbook, or out here doing this.” Kei gave a small and disgruntled grown, shaking her head with a brief huff.

Miki could only offer an apologetic grin, before shaking her head. “This isn’t that bad.”

“We could be inside though, actually preparing for our third year.”

Fair point. They weren’t far off…the current senior students would be graduating in a few months, and second years like themselves would be taking their place. It was a daunting thought. Miki can’t quite place why she didn’t feel quite…ready, yet. Her grades were fine—they were impressive, really. Socially, Miki could use some work, but it wasn’t really something she was heavily concerned with. Kei was concerned enough for the both of them in that aspect. She always insisted that Miki needed to come out of her shell more, even if she understood better than to force Miki into the spotlight.

So, what actually frightened Miki about the aspect of taking on her final year here in the academy was beyond her reach of recognition.

“Miki, do you have plans after class? I know neither of our clubs are meeting today.”

“Hm?” Miki blinked, her train of thought falling back down to Earth by the pull of her friend’s voice. “Ah—I was going to help out in the library a little bit. Why?”

“Mm, okay. It’s nothing. I was actually planning on heading to town and seeing that store manager about his job opening. Remember the one?”

“At the music shop?”

“Yeah!”

“He got back to you about it?”

“I got a call yesterday to come in today if I was still interested in working part-time there.”

“That’s great, Kei. If you wanted me to tag along, I don’t mind changing my plans.”

“No, no, you’re okay. If you came along I was just going to ask if you wanted to drop by the bookstore on the way home anyway. I’ll just surprise you with something tomorrow,” Kei said with another small laugh.

“That laugh worries me. Don’t come to class tomorrow handing me something that shouldn’t be on school grounds in the first place.”

“You worry way too much. I’m just pulling your leg anyway. I promise I’ll try and find something you’d actually want.”

Kei tugged at a weed, pulling its roots from the ground before tossing it in the bag. Momentarily, the sound of a whistle once again cut through the warm air, drawing their attention just slightly to the track field nearby. One of the students had just finish her run, the instructor calling out her time with an impressed tone of voice and a compliment to follow. Expectedly, with a word of encouragement to the other classmates to pick up the pace. Miki looked curiously at the student catching her breath, hands on her knees and curiously long, twin-tailed hair hanging down from either side of her head.

“Isn’t she part of the track team? The captain, in fact. I think she got that position only a few months ago.”

“Hm?” Miki glanced back to Kei, who only sighed and shugged.

“It would suck to get yelled at by the teacher just because you can’t keep up with one of the best runners in school.”

Ah—that did seem a bit unfair, didn’t it? It was hard telling how the girl herself felt about the spotlight from where they were.

“Miki, you look like you’re wandering again.”

“E-eh? I do?”

Kei frowned a little bit and sighed. “You let the trash bag close again too. As cruel as I realize it is to stop you from staring at pretty, out-of-breath third year girls, I’m gonna need you to help me out a little bit here.”

That comment managed to get something out of Miki. A reddened streak across the face, along with the start of a surprised stammer in her retort.

“W-what?!”

Kei laughed. _Now_ being out here was a little more bearable again.

***

Over at the track field, meanwhile, the rest of the students started their mile runs as the exhausted girl’s hand extended to the offered bottle of water, and took a seat next to her kind donator.

“Damn I wish she’d stop shoutin’ about me.”

“She thinks it’s impressive, is all.”

Kurumi Ebisuzawa could only offer a disgruntled kind of groan into the towel that she placed against her face. That noise only died down once she lowered it, and worked on getting the water open. Picking up the second water bottle near the girl next to her, she twisted it open before offering it to her.

“Ah—thank you.”

“Tch…I saw you strugglin’ with it while I was running.” Kurumi smirked over at her quieter friend. Yuki Takeya. The center point of a rumor or two here and there, but only because of her withdrawn behavior. Yuki wasn’t an entirely cut-off person, thankfully. She had a good handful of supportive and surprisingly reliable friends, even if together the group didn’t quite look that conventional. Kurumi was only one of them, but she was one of the closer ones, for certain. Rough as the track girl’s friendly affection could be, she was as protective as a bouncer at a private event.

Kurumi took a long swig of her water, setting it down with an abruptly loud sigh of satisfaction before finally letting her posture relax a little bit. “I’m kinda glad the track meeting t’day was cancelled now. I might’ve run a little too hard, there.”

“What are you going to do after school, then? You didn’t seem like you were itching to head straight home.”

“Ahh, I dunno.”

“Rii-san suggested the library.”

That comment just brought another disgruntled twist to Kurumi’s facial features as she looked off to the side.

“She’s out sick today but she still texted a lot about making sure you take the new free time to study.” Yuki giggled softly, pulling up the texts on her phone and handing it to Kurumi to look over. The runner stared at the harping messages for a moment before handing the phone back with a small grunt, but no coherent answer.

“You probably should, you know.”

Another grunt.

“That one bad grade is going to get the track team’s attention too, isn’t it?”

Now, that comment earned more than a grunt. More like, a frustrated groan and a rub of her own hands over Kurumi’s face.

“Yeah, yeah…I know. I gotta keep my grades up, for both track and graduatin’. _Fuck_ though…English is _hard_. Why do I even need to know that crap? Are you sure y’ don’t need company on the way to your appointment, or anythin’?”

Yuki smiled a little bit, shaking her head. “No excuses, Kurumi. My appointment’s tomorrow, not today. Takae is taking me there anyway, so you can’t get out of this one. Sorry.”

“Ugh… _fine_. Fine, whatever. I’ll…drop by the library after school. See what I can do. Find some books ‘r something.”

“You should try asking about a tutor while you’re there. That might help you a lot more. Kurumi’s always struck as more active of a learner than just sitting down and reading.”

“Don’t push your luck, Takeya. I’m goin’ to the library, leave it at that.”

“How about I tag along? I don’t really have any plans…we can look for something together.”

Kurumi grimaced at Yuki, only to avert her eyes and groan quietly as she watched the other students run. It was way too hard to say no to a girl like Yuki Takeya, once you got to know her. Too damn kind for her own good, if you asked Kurumi. Too kind for Kurumi’s good too. After a few seconds of stubborn silence, Kurumi sounded an abrupt, frustrated noise of defeat (startling some of the other recovering classmates in the process) and leaned back against the bleachers behind her.

“You win, already. Ease back with Kindness Express there, Yuki.” Despite the defeated tone, Kurumi mustered a quiet chuckle and reached over to ruffle Yuki’s hair a little bit. It wasn’t often that the girl’s pink head of hair wasn’t covered by that hat. The only thing that stopped her, likely, were the rules during P.E., as well as the heat. “We’ll both go after school. I’ll need a little help tryin’ to look for decent study books anyway.”

The agreement seemed to brighten Yuki’s features a little bit. As infrequently as that happened, it was nice to see such a delighted smile on the smaller senior’s face. Any of Yuki’s friends would agree, really.

“Looks like they’re done out there…c’mon, shrimp, we gotta head back inside.”

That comment earned her a stubborn pout. “Don’t call me that!” Nonetheless, Kurumi laughed, and Yuki stood up from her seat and followed her friend, as well as the rest of the class, back into the comfort of the air-conditioned school gym. It might’ve been the last class of the day, but that only meant a quick shower and a trip to the library next, for the disgruntled track team captain.


	2. Familiar Face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fate's got a strange way of bringing everyone to the same point at the right time. Maybe it wasn't the best group of first impressions possible, but something's definitely been set into motion, now.  
> Miki stays after to help in the library, and by the oddest chances, meets the infamous track captain face to face, if only briefly for now.

The library was a calm and relaxing place. Maybe Miki was biased, given how much of an avid book lover she really was, but the library was one of the places that she really felt comfortable, especially in this school. Even the librarian, Aiko Takamura, was one of the few faculty members that Miki put out more of an effort to talk semi-frequently with, whether due to the work she helped with after school, or just simply idle chat.

Miki had started offering to stay after school when her second year here started. She didn’t feel as solidly grounded as Kei, when it came to things she wanted to invest herself in. Clubs, futures, jobs…held-together a student as Miki was, when it came to where she wanted to go with herself, she was never really quite certain. She had a few interests here and there, but did they stick? Not really. Books were the only consistency in her interests, but there was nothing here aside from being an aide in the library that fell under that category. At one point Miki had been interested in starting some kind of literacy club, but the idea never gained enough traction among the student body to go anywhere, even with the librarian’s support and promised sponsorship.

At least she could say that she tried.

“Could you put the returns away today, Naoki-san?”

“Yes ma’am.”

Given her task for the day, Miki grabbed the cart of returned library books. Seemed like the librarian had already handled getting them out of the bin and back into the cart to be put away.

Wheeling the books away, Miki decided on the best starting point, before sifting through the books for the ones that belonged in the section she started at. The familiar two rumbles of a text pulled her attention from her task before she could even reach for the first book, however. Hm…Kei, probably?

Once she pulls her phone out and glances at the name on the screen, she finds she was right.

_‘I got the job! Few days a week, but decent pay.’_

Miki couldn’t help the small, relieved smile. Kei had been so excited at the job opening, so to know she managed to grab a position working somewhere she’d enjoy was good news indeed.

_‘Congratulations.’_

_‘Call me when ur done there, k?’_

_‘Got it.’_

At least she knew better than to keep Miki distracted when she probably had other things to do. Kei was…remarkably good at learning a girl that most others normally opted to ignore. Miki was such a quiet girl, after all. For the most part, she had no reputation here, simply because she kept to herself so much. Some students were surprised Miki was friends with such a peppy, social girl like Kei, who often put out enormous effort to get to know others and meet people. That was just who she was. No doubt, she had places to go, and she’d get there eventually.

Miki, on the other hand, was never too sure. She was a great student, make no mistake. Studious, well-behaved, and full of respect. But she wasn’t all that well-rounded. She wasn’t nearly as social as she was expected to be, she held no interests in the sports clubs or hardly any of the culture clubs available at the academy. She still hadn't arrived at a solid idea of what to do with her future. There were a few ideas in her head, but none of them would meet the standards her family would surely approve of.

One step at a time, she supposed. Kei worked harder on Miki’s inability to open up to new faces. It was no case of social anxiety, but it was still strong enough to prevent Miki from approaching people on her own. Kei had always noted just how much notice Miki would gain if she could open up a bit more. As Kei would say, Miki was so pretty it was almost unfair, she was incredibly intelligent, and on top of all that she even had talents most didn’t know about, like the artistic skill hidden in those slender fingers of hers. Kei was right…no doubt Miki would call for more positive attention and recognition if she only spoke to people more often. Though, why the idea of being in the spotlight like that frightened Miki…well, it was hard to describe. She wasn’t like Kei. She couldn’t toss herself out there and take it in stride.

Miki’s stared at the book she slipped back into its empty spot, fingertips brushing against the spine curiously. What snapped her back to reality was the sound of a girl walking into the library, voice unnecessarily loud and full of complaint before Aiko hushed them quickly. Then there was an apology from another voice. Shutting her eyes for a moment, Miki quietly sighed and shook her head, resuming her duties. Why someone had to march into a library like that was well beyond her realm of understanding. But it was none of her business anyway. She had a job to do.

The librarian, on the other hand, now momentarily had her hands full, urging a more respectful volume from the two students who had just wandered in. The taller girl had muttered a somewhat embarrassed apology, but at least her friend gave one a bit more direct and sincere.

“Geez…how do we even start…” Kurumi folded her arms behind her head, frown tugging at her lips as she scanned the expanse of the room. It was easy to forget just how large of a library this school even had. It was damn impressive, honestly. Of course, that doesn’t hold much impact for someone who didn’t use it nearly as much as she should.

“Why not look around? We’ll split up and see what we find that might help,” Yuki glanced at Kurumi, pulling her wandering attention back down to Earth.

“Eh…yeah, sure. I’ll uh…start over here. Jus’ find me there if ya track something down.”

Kurumi lowered her arms and wandered into the section in question. References and nonfictional material. Sounded like a good enough place to start, if you asked her. There was already someone else there, but it looked like it was just someone helping out—putting books away, she guessed. Stopping near the smaller blonde, Kurumi turned to face the shelves. Her fingers scratched behind her head, looking almost humorously lost. At least, that’s what she looked like to Miki.

That was the girl from the track, wasn’t it?

Maybe she had stared briefly. Whatever she did, it caught Kurumi’s attention.

“Watch it.”

Hm? Kurumi’s quick movement startled Miki, but it turned out the older student was reaching out to grab the book that Miki had nearly let fall off the cart.

“You space out for a second? Here ya go.”

Miki took the book from Kurumi, flustered that she’d gone and made a silly mistake like that in front of someone. She held the book close to her and nodded.

“Th…thank you.”

At least the gratitude managed to get a friendly grin out of the runner.

“No problem.”

“Um—are you looking for something, in particular?”

“Not in particular, no…I’m uh…I guess I’m tryin’ to look for something t’study with.”

“Study…ah, well, what subject?”

“English.”

Was that it? Miki thought about it, looking at the shelves in front of Kurumi briefly, before putting the book in her hands down. She quietly excused herself as she moved between the other girl and the shelf, blue eyes scanning the books carefully before she pulled a couple of options down from their homes. Turning around, Miki presented them to Kurumi.

“These are best, if you need to start from the bottom. They focus on the basics. If you don’t understand the language very well, it’s harder to start trying to understand from the middle, rather than starting by reviewing the basics.”

For some reason, the explanation seems to startle Kurumi. It was awfully wordy for Miki—but Kurumi wouldn’t know that, given she didn’t even know who she was, surely. No, likely she just didn’t expect to receive that much help right off the bat.

There were some advantages to having a strong interest in learning another language outside of school reasons.

“Hey, thanks a lot.” Kurumi reached out and accepted the moderately thick reading material. “Guess I better grab my buddy. You’re a lifesaver.”

Miki wouldn’t go that far. Was it that hard of a subject for this girl? Still, she offered a polite nod and watched the senior turn and jog off to find the friend in question.

“Oi, Yuki.”

Kurumi didn’t have to look far. Actually, her bright-haired friend had managed, already, to get distracted by other things.

“Y’know, I don’t know how the ‘heartwarming story of two childhood friends in love’ is supposed t’help me with school.” The tone Kurumi spoke with was enough to hint to Yuki that she’d been caught getting sidetracked. Rubbing the back of her neck, all Yuki could offer in response was a somewhat guilty, quiet laugh.

“Sorry…but it looks like you found something.”

“Yeah. One of the girls helpin’ out found it for me. Pretty quickly, actually.”

“Let’s go see about borrowing them, then.”

Good. The less time Kurumi was stuck in here, the better. They walked back over to the librarian to discuss checking the books out, a process that Kurumi was hoping would also be quick and easy. Of course, it never was. Yuki had brought her here for something else, after all.

“I was wondering, could you answer a question my friend has? It’s about tutoring.”

Oh, god dammit. Now Kurumi was put on the spot, as well. She could only shoot Yuki a quick, irritated glare, before looking back at the librarian with an awkward, forced smile.

“A-ah…heh, yeah. Well I um…I need some help with somethin’ I’m struggling with. It’s kinda important I get back on track.”

“Well, let’s see what we can do then. Judging by these books, I’m guessing you need some help with English.”

Right on the money, but it was like the woman had said. The books made it pretty obvious. Kurumi nodded. Smiling faintly, the librarian gestured for them to wait a moment, before leaving the desk and disappearing into one of the sections.

“That’s where I just was.” Kurumi’s observation was a keen one for not knowing what it was supposed to mean. At least, not until the woman reemerged with a student. She walked over, the smile on her face a bit more evident as she placed a hand on the blonde girl’s shoulder and beamed at Kurumi.

“Here’s one solution.”

Oh? Kurumi’s confused gaze wandered to the student. Flustered, Miki averted her own eyes and looked up at Aiko.

“W-wait, what?”

“Naoki-san, this girl was just telling me that she needed some help with school. Of course…I could find other tutors for you too, but I have to be honest, Naoki-san’s understanding of English is rather exceptional.”

Miki wouldn’t go that far. It was certainly better than it had to be. Maybe she did pick up on it faster than other students. But for the most part, it was out of interest unrelated to school.

“I realize she’s a year under you, but in terms of help, I think that she would be the best person to consider.”

This was a lot of praise for Miki to be subjected to in front of someone else. If spontaneous combustion was really something that was possible, why couldn’t it just happen right now, and save her from whatever this mess was?

“I-I dunno…”

Yuki was surprised by the reluctance that Kurumi expressed. Frowning, she looked over at her friend. “Why not?”

“H-hey look—could I just think about it first, at least?”

Actually, getting tutored by a junior did strike the track runner as…embarrassing. It was silly to even think that, but Kurumi was just as human as anyone else.

Aiko gave a thoughtful hum, before she resigned and gave a nod.

“Of course. How about you exchange numbers, then? If you decide what you want to do, you can simply contact her directly.”

Didn’t Miki get a say in this? Unfortunately, Kurumi seemed ready enough to leave by now that all she could do was agree, if it meant resolving this situation quickly and getting to leave the library. Pulling her phone out with some reluctance, Miki opened up a new contacts screen, before handing her phone over, and accepting Kurumi’s. It only took a moment, even if that moment felt like it last…a bit too long. But soon enough, their own phones were back in their hands, and put away, before the librarian took care of her task at hand—getting Kurumi’s study materials checked out to her name.

“Thanks for your help.” Kurumi was polite enough to at least still thank the woman for her help. Chuckling, she only shook her head.

“It’s not a problem. Just remember to think about it and give an answer, okay?”

“S-sure. Let’s go, Yuki.”

“Roger!”

With that, the two left, and the space seemed to grow quieter again. Miki sighed as if she’d finally been allowed to breathe. She frowned at Aiko before she could even bring herself to stop the impulse.

“S-sensei, why…”

“That’s a silly question, don’t you think? She needs help. All I did was find the person most capable.”

“But…”

Aiko just sighed and shook her head. “But what? You can help.” Sitting up straight in her chair, the woman’s brown eyes stared more seriously at Miki. “It would look better on you, if you at least did this. Helping in the library is fine and all, and it’s incredibly helpful to me. But…you do need more under your belt, Naoki-san. I understand you’re not interested in the clubs, but you should fill that time with something else, in the meantime.”

She seemed to relax then, sitting back.

“Besides…it might be good for you. To talk to more people. Even if it’s just obligation. Maybe you’ll make a new friend.” Aiko smiled. Miki’s frown didn’t give, though the implication does throw her gaze off to the side in discomfort.

“Look, Naoki-san. It’s just a suggestion. Anyway, it’s a mutual agreement, ultimately. Maybe she’ll turn it down. Even if she accepts, you have to accept as well, so of course, you’re free to say that you can’t do it.”

That just seemed…rude. Unpleasant. Aiko stared quietly for a moment, before tilting her head to the side just slightly.

“Why don’t you take a little break, hm? When you get a breather, you can get back to your duties if you like.”

“O-okay.”

That was an offer Miki would take her up on. Backing away from the desk, the distressed girl walked out of the library and let out another audible sigh before she leaned against the wall just outside. Her eyes had only shut for a moment, before another voice interrupted her chance to relax.

“Excuse me.”

Miki’s eyes briefly meet the softer gaze of someone else. That girl who had been with the track captain. The atmosphere from her was entirely different than the one her friend gave off, that was for sure.

“I’m sorry about Kurumi.”

“Sorry about what?”

“I’m not sure, honestly.” There was a soft laugh. “Oh—that’s her name. Kurumi Ebisuzawa. I’m Yuki Takeya.”

Introductions. Hesitantly, Miki offered a slight bow out of respect. “Naoki, Miki. It’s…it’s nice to meet you.”

“She’s a nice person, you know. She’s just…”

“N-no, I understand.”

Yuki paused, looking at Miki for a moment, before nodding and smiling somewhat.

“Thank you for helping her out today.”

“You’re welcome…it’s no problem, really.”

With a politely given goodbye, the girl adjusted her odd black hat and walked off, leaving Miki to head back inside. Not much of a “breather,” but it did calm her down a little bit, at least. She was tired, though. The best thing she could do for now was simply finish what she was doing, and head on home. There wasn’t much point in worrying over what happened until she actually got a response, after all.


	3. Reluctant Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kurumi bites the bullet and makes a move, while Kei is just trying to keep Miki from falling all over herself.
> 
> An author's note, thanks for sticking with it so far. I know it's a slow start, and probably segmented oddly, but it's also chaptered how it is to benefit my lack of time to sit down and write a whole fanfiction while dealing with life and retail work. I hope to make all the waiting worth it to you after all's said and done.

**Reluctant Decision**

“Ugh…”

School was starting soon. Kurumi had maybe…an hour to get ready, now? She wasn’t too worried, but she preoccupied with other things right now anyway. Like what happened in the library yesterday.

_“Just remember to think about it and give an answer, okay?”_

This didn’t have to be such a hard decision. All Kurumi had to do was say yes or no. But saying yes felt…embarrassing. Accepting help from a junior, when she was the one who was supposed to know more? It felt so damn weird! But, if she said no, what then? Try to study English on her own and hope it went well? Kurumi’s study skills weren’t exactly anything to be proud of. With a swing of her legs, Kurumi sat up on her bed and sighed. If she was going to have a crisis, she might as well do it while getting ready for school.

Miki’s morning wasn’t much different. Getting ready for school didn’t serve much distraction, honestly. Maybe she had little reason to be so anxious about Kurumi actually accepting that offer—she didn’t seem like the type—but that didn’t mean she still worried about what she’d have to do if it was a yes after all. Approaching people that she didn’t know, even other students, wasn’t the easiest thing to put herself through. She was, by no means, as socially adept as Kei could be. It wasn’t exactly something that anyone would assume about a girl like Miki. Given looks and intelligence, she could potentially be considered desirable for anyone’s social circle. Yet her only preferred company seemed to be Kei, and otherwise approaching anyone else was a bigger challenge than it had any right to be.

Blessed with the right traits, but cursed with the inability to put them to use.

The vibration of her cell phone on the bedside table pulled her attention from the clouds, eyes glancing from her mirror to the source of the noise. Picking it up to pull up the text she’d received only revealed Kei’s familiar handle and number.

> _“Whats taking you so long huh?”_

There was a subtle roll of Miki’s eyes before she put the phone down and properly raised the suspenders of her uniform over her shoulders. She grabbed her bag and dropped her phone into her belongings, hurrying out of her quiet home to meet up with the brunette who was waiting just at the foot of her driveway for her.

“What a slowpoke!”

“I get it, I get it.”

Kei turned around on her heels, the two of them starting their usual way to the school.

“What’s up, though? You’re normally out there waiting on me, not the other way around.”

“It’s…nothing. Nothing important, anyway. Just thinking about some things, like usual.”

Kei raised an eyebrow. If it was like usual then it wouldn’t have gotten in the way of the usual routine. Still, she doesn’t chase the subject. Stubborn as Kei tended to be, she still knew her best friend well enough to know that if it was something major, she would let her into the loop. Regardless, she could always ask again later. Miki just kept some thoughts to herself. That was just the kind of girl she was, it seemed. Kei knew her long enough to realize that.

“Ah…”

Kei’s eyes wandered to Miki when she picked up on the surprised noise from the girl’s lips. Cell phone. Who it could be was a wonder to Kei. Normally, it was only Kei who really used Miki’s cell phone number, whether for text messages or calls. Normally texts, given the blonde’s slightest discomfort trying to have phone calls. She couldn’t think of a reason her parents would be contacting her either. Things were normally silent on their side of things, contact only given when away from home in the case of an emergency.

Miki roused her cell’s screen from its sleep, eyeing the text notification for a moment before opening her inbox. Just as she worried, it seemed.

> _“Come watch track after school 2day. We’ll talk.”_

Miki’s subtle frown tugged at the corners of her mouth. Really? Was this girl really considering help from a junior? Part of Miki was hoping she’d simply decline. From the looks of things before, it really seemed like she would. But…Miki wasn’t sure if she was truly up for being pushed into one-on-one interaction with someone who was just a complete stranger to her.

“Earth to Miki. What’s going on?”

“E-eh? Oh—I’m sorry. Just…” Miki pursed her lips and looked at the ground as she put her phone away again. A shake of her head seems to warn a continuation.

“Are you busy after school?”

“Not today. Why?”

“Can you go somewhere with me today? I have to meet another student at their club. I…I don’t really want to wait around alone.”

“Sure. But…that’s not something I expected to hear. What’s happening? Oh! Don’t tell me Miki’s experiencing the wonders of school romance without even telling me!”

“W-what?! N-no!” Of course it was only a tease. But Kei couldn’t help but laugh at the bright red flush she managed to pull from her friend. Embarrassing Miki was far too easy if you knew even slightly, how to do it. Unfortunately for Miki, Kei was the expert in that field.

“I-It’s nothing like that…Takamura-sensei, she…proposed that I be an English tutor for one of the seniors, that’s all. I was…well, I was hoping maybe she wouldn’t actually consider it, but they want to talk to me today.”

Tutoring? Not a surprise to Kei to hear about. Miki was impressively equipped with the knowledge to be a tutor in most subjects, English especially. Of course, it came more from personal interest and books more than actual academic practice, but it was no surprise that it did help her academically as well. Kei couldn’t count the amount of times in the past that she had to ask Miki for help when it came to their English assignments. But she could understand the nervous reactions from Miki about the whole mess. Miki was uneasy around unfamiliar people. Even other students. No one knew that better than Kei. Takamura knew it as well, but that was likely why she proposed the idea in the first place. Clever, but a bit risky when Kei considered it required both Miki and the other student to cooperate. Even Kei couldn’t guess if Miki would back an idea like that or not. Judging from her reactions right now, it seemed more likely that she didn’t want to.

“Think they’re going to say yes?”

“Maybe…I think she would have just kept quiet if she intended on rejecting the offer. I don’t know.”

“I guess we’ll see then, won’t we?” Kei offered an encouraging smile, before patting Miki’s shoulder gently. “Just try not to fall apart before then. I know you’re nervous, but you don’t know what’s happening until you actually talk to them, right?”

Miki nodded. She supposed that was true.

“Who’s the senior, anyway? Can I know?”

“You’ll find out either way, won’t you?”

“That’s exactly why I’m assuming I can know now.” Smartass.

“Ebisuzawa-senpai, from track team.”

That one seemed to surprise Kei. Her? She didn’t know Kurumi personally, but from what she heard, that was a pretty prideful runner. She could understand now why there had to be time to think about the offer on Kurumi’s part. Accepting tutoring from a junior didn’t seem like something she’d do.

Though, assuming something of a person before getting to know them was also a bit questionable, on Kei’s part. It was probably best to bite that thought back before assuming it true.

“I’m surprised. Team captain needs help with her English, huh? I feel her. It sucks so much.”

“Do you know much about her?”

Kei shook her head. “Only what I’ve heard, which isn’t too reliable to go on. You know how school gossip works.”

Of course Miki knew. Take it with a grain of salt. Students liked to spread rumors all the time, after all. Frequently, those rumors were about the farthest from the truth that you could get.

Kei looked forward, tilting her head thoughtfully.

“She was made the track captain by the previous captain, is what I’ve heard. She’s a great runner on the team, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it was simply because she has the skill. But there’s a lot of people who think it’s because she had the hots for him. They say things like, he gave it the role to her simply because she was his favorite or because she charmed him out of it. The worst kind of rumors, if you ask me.”

Miki couldn’t disagree with that. So then, just how much of the school thought Kurumi Ebisuzawa was impressive, and how much simply thought she cheated her way to her spot? That seemed like an incredibly unsavory image to hold from your peers.

“The worst part is, those rumors started from some of the track team members themselves. They’re bitter probably. It’s a surprise she gets cooperation from them at all, but it’s probably just because they still want to win their competitions.”

Kei glanced over at Miki. She seemed to be mulling over all of this pretty thoughtfully. Kei’s serious expression melted away into more of a kinder grin, before shrugging.

“I’ve only heard that from other people, though. I can’t speak for her, or for the team. I’m not part of that.”

Miki grimaced, sighing as a hand raised to rub at the back of her neck.

“What should I do…?”

“Talk to her, I think. I’ll be there with you today anyway, right? Don’t go making decisions already just because I remembered some rumors. We both know better than that.”

“…right.”

It wasn’t the rumors that bothered her. From the start, it was simply having to get familiar with a new face. It was just…anxiety, about a lot of things. From then on there, the rest of the day seemed to coast by for Miki. Even if it dragged for Kei, Miki was simply too distracted and nervous to really keep track of the passage of time through the school day. At least, except for lunch, when Kei was more able to interject and distract her. But even so, it felt like hardly an hour had passed, by the time the last chime of the school bell had been heard, and it was time for students to either go home, or prepare for club meetings.

The track field was busy, as expected. The team members either stretched in preparation or were already practicing, running their laps rather effortlessly. Miki couldn’t help but feel a little bit impressed at the idea that anyone could run a mile or two and not be completely out of breath and drained afterwards. She could hardly make it a mile without ending up like that herself. Not that Kei was much better off, but at least she could make it a little farther than Miki.

Some part of Miki wished Kei hadn’t told her so much about the team’s dynamics towards their captain. Miki was too perceptive to ignore whatever she noticed because of it. The way that some of the track members brushed off Kurumi’s game plan for the day, how a few of them watched Kurumi run with a hint of displeasure on their features…really, only a fraction of the team seemed to be so openly unhappy with their captain, but in the end it only took a small break in the frameworks to shatter a whole piece. There was a bit of sympathy perhaps, in the way Miki hoped it wouldn’t happen to the track team just because of some malicious assumptions.

“You’re staring, again.”

“Huh?” Miki’s eyes blinked, blue hues looking over at her friend, who now focused on her rather than the activities of the track team. Kei stared only for a moment, before smirking and leaning back in her spot on the bleachers and looking back at the team, specifically at the captain herself.

“I mean, you can just be honest and tell me if the reason you’re nervous is because the thought of being alone with a senior track runner makes your heart skip a beat.” Kei’s tone made it pretty damn clear she was only teasing Miki again, but damned if she wasn’t good at provoking reactions. Of course, it’s easy to do when your best friend didn’t take romance jests with the most grace.

“D-do you ever think before you speak?”

“Sometimes.”

Kei giggled, reaching over and letting a hand ruffle Miki’s soft hair a little bit. Teasing was hard to help when she got such pleasing reactions out of it. Coming from someone normally so level-headed and calm, to hear flustered sputters and embarrassed whines were admittedly way too cute to be considered fair game. Times like this, Kei was quietly glad to be the only person who really knew how to get that out of such a serious girl. It was a side of Miki not a lot of people got to see, and Kei enjoyed seeing Miki loosen up a bit.

“It’ll be fine. Even if she says yes, I think you’ll be fine. It’s just some tutoring, you know? Ebisuzawa-san doesn’t even seem like that bad of a person. So just, try and relax, okay? Take it easy.”

Miki seemed hesitant to take that advice. But, a few seconds of anxious staring towards the track team, and she did eventually offer a small nod of acknowledgement, at least, to Kei’s words.

“I’m always in touch if you need support, too. You already know you can text me anytime. Even if I’m at work.”

“Right.”

“Looks like they’re done with practice for the day…she’s coming this way.”

Kei’s hands fell back to her lap as they watched the members leave the track gradually, likely heading for the showers to clean up before heading home. Kurumi gathered her own bag, taking a drink of her water before walking over to the bleachers, where her two younger spectators waited. Two, huh? Must have been a friend of Miki’s maybe. She wasn’t sure how she felt about someone else being around at the moment, but it was just something that she’d have to grin and bear.

Her bag was placed down on the bottom bleacher, hands slipping into the pockets of her track jacket before she offered a brief and awkward grin at the girls.

“Yo.”

It took a slight nudge of Kei’s elbow to remind Miki that she ought to respond to the greeting.

“A-ah—hey. You…said you wished to meet me?”

“Er, yeah. Didn’t expect ya to bring company, though.”

Before Miki could even respond, Kei interjected for herself.

“Shidou, Kei. Miki’s friend. No worries, I’m just here for…moral support, let’s say. What you two talk about is your business.”

Kurumi seemed to mull that over for a moment, before shrugging. Well, whatever. She might as well get this over with, right? Bite the bullet, as they say. Looking back over at the anxious blonde junior, Kurumi shortly averted her eyes afterwards and sighed.

“I um…I wanted t’take up that offer. Have you tutor me, I mean. Hell, I gotta graduate. I’m not about to let one subject keep me from that.” She had enough people trying to dig up reasons to harp on her behind her back. She didn’t need to give them more fuel to run on by getting held back like that. She barely looked like leader material as it was.

“If you wanna, of course. I mean…it’s gotta be a mutual deal, right?”

Kurumi fell silent after that. Now it was up to Miki. That was a bit too much power. Miki could simply say no and save herself the stress. But there was plenty of hesitation. Her senior really did need her help, it seemed. She didn’t really want to imagine how stressful it probably was to risk not being able to graduate, especially if Kurumi had other friends she wanted to graduate with. There had to be plenty at stake, if she was willing to go as far as to ask a junior to help her. A junior with almost no reputation, at that.

“I…I can try. I mean…I don’t know how much help I can actually be for you, but, i-if that’s really what you want to do, then I suppose I can try to help.”

The answer seemed to surprise both Kei and Kurumi. But, there was at least a hint of relief on Kurumi’s face to hear it.

“Really?”

Miki nodded, confirming her answer further. Kei smiled for a moment, before standing up with a brief hum.

“Why don’t I leave you two to discuss details, then? I need to get going; I wanted to get dinner started before my dad came home. I’ll text you later, Miki.”

Did she always plan on leaving during the conversation? That wasn’t quite fair. Still, Miki nodded and let the girl leave, before her attention turned back to the conversation with her senior. Nervously, her eyes couldn’t quite fix on Kurumi, but rather settled on any piece of scenery except the older girl.

Kurumi was the first to speak up again. “She uh…really won’t tell anyone else about this, right?”

“She won’t.”

“Cool…er—no offense, of course. Just…it’s kind of, _embarrassing_ , y’know? That probably sounds stupid.”

“N-no, I understand.”

“So…then, what days should we do this?”

“I’m free most days. I guess, whenever you don’t have track after school?”

“Sure thing. I’ll send you a text later—to let you know what days those are. Ah, but as for where…I um, don’t really wanna meet up on campus. If that’s cool with you.”

Not surprising. Given Kurumi could at least admit that it was an embarrassing thing for her to do, it was no surprise that she wouldn’t want to meet up on school grounds. Miki thought about it for a moment, picking up her school bag and rummaging around inside for something. Moments later, and she had managed to find a piece of paper and something to write with, quickly jotting down her address before handing it over to Kurumi.

“If it’s agreeable, my house is fine. It’s not far from here, anyway.”

Kurumi eyed the paper for a moment, before nodding and folding it so that she could pocket the address for later.

“Guess that’s that, then. Look…I know I probably made it sound bad ‘n all. But…thanks. I really do appreciate the help. I’m in a tight spot—I’m not above admittin’ that I’m glad someone could probably help me get out of it.”

Miki shook her head, offering a nervous, but friendly smile. “It’s fine. It’s really no problem…I’m just...not used to being approached by other people, that’s all. I’d be glad to help, though. Just, let me know when you can make it, and we’ll see from there.”

That was that. Kurumi picked her bag up again, shouldering it and grinning at Miki again. At least this time, it seemed to be a friendlier gesture, a small hint of a fanged canine in the girl’s mouth as she did so. “See ya around.”

She turned around and left, leaving Miki to watch her walk off before finally deciding to stand up herself. It was a relief to finally be able to get off these increasingly hot seats anyway. She supposed she had to go home and…do what? Mentally prepare herself for their first session? Had she ever had a guest in her house that wasn’t Kei? She was unreasonably nervous and unprepared for something so seemingly simple and mundane, actually. The only thing she felt prepared to do was make a fool out of herself to someone a grade higher than she was.

Great.


	4. Quiet Reflection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kei's reflections, while Miki trudges through her first tutoring lesson with Kurumi.
> 
> Sorry about the wait on this. I wasn't kidding when I said I'd be writing these chapters slowly. Between school, real life, stress, and a full time job, I'm not exactly bustling with energy to write lately. I feel a little bad that I submitted this chapter as late as I did, but regardless, I hope you're relieved to see it.

**Quiet Reflection**

Today was supposed to be Miki’s first tutoring session with Kurumi Ebisuzawa, their senior by one year.

Kei could only offer encouragement through text. She was stuck having to come to her part-time work right after school today, with a few new releases by popular artists making the store a lot busier than it normally was. She didn’t mind much, but admittedly part of her wished that she could actually be there in person for Miki, at least for a little while.

_She has to be able to handle it on her own too, though. Right?_

Even if Kei knew that, part of it was getting used to it herself. Contrary to whatever Miki probably assumed about the brunette, Kei also had plenty of change to get used to. They were apart more often than usual now, though realistically that didn’t change anything between them. It just made Kei feel…a little lonely. Bored, too.

“Drop by again.” Kei smiled at one of their frequent customers, raising a hand to wave as they walked out with their purchase.

“Could you make sure everything is straightened up while there’s no one in the store? Hopefully we won’t have as much to clean up, come closing time.”

Kei glanced over at her boss, giving him a nod and a small grin. “On it.”

First aisle’s albums, and go from there. It was the easiest way to do it. These were all second nature thoughts to her by now. A lot of things were second nature to Kei now. Her routines when at home, how she prepped for school and schoolwork, the things she did at her part-time job, and Miki.

How many people were willing to admit that another person in their life was like second nature to them? Most importantly, was that considered a good thing at all? Or was it bad, to be so used to another person and think about them that much, probably more so than they thought of themselves?

Those were some heavy questions for a girl who was just making sure all the albums were set in alphabetical order.

_I’ll send her a text later. She’s probably busy prepping herself for human interaction._ Kei smirked faintly at the thought, though she couldn’t be far off with that guess. It’d do her no good to distract herself worrying over Miki—she had enough confidence in the blonde to know that she’d be just fine anyway. It was only tutoring. With one person, no less. Miki had to brave the waters alone once in a while, and Kei would have to stop playing protection so often.

_Well, you can do it, Miki. I know you can._

“—dou...Shidou!”

With a small jump, Kei clambered to reclaim her grip on the CD case currently in her hand, saving it from a drop last minute before looking over at her boss.

“You just put five ‘B’ CDs in the ‘D’ section. What are you doing over there?”

“S-sorry! I must’ve blanked for a minute there. Sorry, sorry.”

Well, Miki could do it. Now if only Kei could get herself together as well. But, even as Kei cruised through her usual work routine, elsewhere Miki’s usual after-school routine was being set aside for the almost unsettling change of someone new tagging along with her on the way home.

“You sure it’s cool to use your place for this?”

“It’s fine. My parents don’t normally get home until late at night, so unless it’s a holiday, the house is empty. We wouldn’t be interrupted during lessons.”

“Oh boy.” Kurumi huffed, giving a roll of her eyes. Hands slipped into her pockets as she waited for Miki to unlock the front door to the home. Nothing impressive, but nothing bad either. Your average family house in a neighborhood like this. Like promised, once the door was open, Kurumi could tell that the house itself was just as quiet of a place as the entire neighborhood seemed to be. How unsettling. As if this whole situation wasn’t unsettling enough by itself.

“Make yourself comfortable.” Miki’s statements were short and simple. She didn’t really know how to handle a situation like this. With Kei, it was easy because she knew the girl like the back of her hand. She knew what to say, and knew that Kei wouldn’t care. She didn’t really know Kurumi Ebisuzawa, on the other hand. Now was the time when anxiety was at its loudest, insisting that she was going to say something stupid or make a bad impression.

“The table by the kitchen might be best to sit at for now. If you brought those books you checked out, go ahead and get them out. I just need to put my stuff away first.”

“Gotcha.”

Kurumi watched Miki leave down the hallway, before giving a quiet groan and putting her bag down on the floor. Pulling a chair, she practically fell into it and leaned back. Tutoring. School, after school. That just wasn’t fair. But, she wanted to graduate, right? That meant passing her classes. Even if it did mean swallowing her pride and taking lessons from someone one year her junior. She supposed age didn’t mean a damn thing as long as the person helping her knew more than her.

Reaching down, Kurumi dug around her belongings until she could stack a few books from inside on top of the table’s surface. Her eyes wandered to Miki, who’d come back only to pull out the chair next to Kurumi and sit down.

“So where are we starting?”

“Ahh…” That question shouldn’t have baffled Kurumi as much as it seemed to. Raising her fingers to her hair, Miki let out a quiet sigh as she ran her hand through blonde hair and shrugged.

“Why not some easy basics? Once you grasp that we can move on. English is like any other language…once you learn something, you need it to understand the next concept.”

Focus, right? As long as Miki kept her focus on her task, then she’d be fine. That seemed to be the case, at least. Kurumi wasn’t the fastest learner when it came to subjects she had no interest in, or just flat out couldn’t grasp at all. But at the very least, Miki had the patience to walk her through the lessons and clarify the fundamentals to the older girl. It made for a longer tutoring session than either of them really wanted, but as long as they accomplished something at the end of the day, then the both of them did something right, at least.

It was draining, though. Miki couldn’t admit that much out loud, but she felt tired after all was said and done. Speaking to someone she was hardly familiar with, even with a purpose such as teaching—it was difficult. It felt as draining as a marathon would feel to someone who was hardly an athlete. Maybe that wouldn’t make sense to someone who wasn’t left anxious and restless in a social situation, but for Miki it was a feeling as familiar and frequent to her as the comfortable rush of drowsiness that comes from falling onto her bed after a long day.

“That’s not bad…you got most of these practice questions right this time. I think you’re grasping it pretty well.”

“You explain it a li’l better than my teachers do.” Kurumi simply shrugged, hand moving to rub at the back of her neck. “I…guess I am kinda surprised though. I didn’t think I’d make that kinda progress this soon.”

“You’re just starting, really. It’s good that you already understand this, at least.”

Kurumi put her paper down and leaned back in her chair, shooting a somewhat friendlier grin in Miki’s direction.

“You though…”

Wait a minute…what? Miki looked at Kurumi, expression that of a surprised animal. What about her? She wasn’t aware of anything she did during the session to warrant Kurumi starting any sentence with a foreboding choice of words.

Despite Miki’s abrupt rush of worry, Kurumi merely shook her head and laughed quietly, crossing her arms.

“You did nice, in my opinion. Teachin’ me, I mean. You were worried about that, right?”

Miki blinked, taking a few seconds to register the compliment, before looking back at the table and clearing her throat. Now she just felt silly, for thinking it was going to be something bad.

“Th-that’s…not why we’re here though. Don’t worry about something like that.”

Kurumi’s arms straightened out again, before resting her elbows on the table and she could lean forward onto it.

“Hey, the lady in the library said you needed this too, didn’t she? I’m jus’ sayin’, ya did well. Don’t worry about it so much.”

That easy for someone like Kurumi to say. Miki could try to appreciate the compliment. Maybe she did. It was just difficult for her to take it to heart and stop worrying. It simply didn’t work that way. The focus on the subject itself only added to the exhaustion she was already experiencing.

If there was anything Miki could do well, it was diverting the subject elsewhere.

“We’ll move on to the next lesson next time, okay? It’s going to be more grammar and basic rules. There’s a lot for you to understand before I move on to anything more complicated.”

There was a good minute of silence on Kurumi’s end as she stared at Miki curiously, before she shrugged yet again.

“Eh…all right. So, we’re done for today, right?”

“Yeah. Do those practice pages I pointed out earlier though, when you have time to. It’ll help cement the lessons. I’ll check over what you did next time. That sound fair?”

“Geez…I got an underclassman givin’ me homework,” Kurumi griped, standing up and grabbing the handle of her school bag. She shouldered it, slipping the study material back into the bag before glancing back at Miki and revealing a sheepish grin. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll try it. I may complain about a lotta shit, but at least I give it a shot. I’m gonna head out, if we’re all done here.”

Miki nodded. They were beyond done here—or at least, she was. She needed time to herself, after spending that much time around someone else. Or at least, time to spare winding down with Kei’s texts. “Stay safe.”

Kurumi raised her hand in a brief wave of acknowledgement, back already turned as she headed out the door.

“Will do. See ya.”


	5. Unfamiliar Crowd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! I wasn't kidding when I warned that these chapters would be a long wait in between. Miki hangs out with the senior kids today, and meets yet another new, strangely intimidating, face.

_“I have to get to work right after school today. Sorry! Ttyl <3”_

Her help wasn’t even needed today in the library. Honestly, Miki wondered what about today was deliberately leading her places she wasn’t used to going. The librarian suggested she take a walk around the school and maybe take a look at the other clubs while they were still meeting. Sign-ups were long ago—Miki wasn’t even sure why she was still being told to check any of them out. It was already pretty well understood that the chances of getting Miki to sign up for anything were slim. This year, at least.

She was told to think about sitting in at the track field specifically. What for? Ebisuzawa? Miki was beginning to suspect this entire setup intended more to get Miki a new friend rather than just help some senior with her grades. Maybe Miki shouldn’t mind as much as she did, but…did she really want people shoved at her in such a way? These things made her nervous. Maybe unusually so. Maybe she did need to help herself more and get over her anxiety towards new people. She just wasn’t sure if she wanted other people pushing her to do it faster than intended.

“C’mon guys, we got a competition coming up! We can’t slack off too much now!”

Miki’s thoughtful gaze picked itself up from the concrete walkway, finally getting a good look at the track field in front of her. There were students peppered along the track, all running at different paces as their captain oversaw it all. From the looks of it, Kurumi had only just finished her own run, and was merely encouraging the others to finish their own.

“Miki-san!” At the call of her name, Miki’s blue eyes redirected their somewhat bewildered stare towards the bleachers only to find a vaguely familiar senior beckoning her over. “I didn’t expect to see you here again.”

“Ah…my friend, she had to go to work today. I didn’t really feel like heading home yet, so I just…figured I would wander around a little bit.” Well, she was told to wander around. Close enough. Miki wasn’t always so eager to make her social weaknesses that obvious. It was easy enough to notice without that kind of help. Still, Yuki merely smiled and nodded, before patting the empty spot next to her. Reluctant as the blonde was to accept the offer, it felt ruder still to say no. With that in mind, Miki set her briefcase down and took a seat, looking back out to the field.

“You know, they’re about done out here. If you needed something to do, you could always come along with us. We were going to a café downtown today.”

“I…I don’t know. I probably really should go home soon.” There was that hesitation again. Miki’s default response shouldn’t just be indirect no’s, but it was almost just a knee-jerk, nervous response.

“It’ll be fun!” Yuki’s smile grew a bit more excited, her hand reaching out to Miki’s for an impulsive grab. The physical contact was a little too startling for Miki’s tastes, but Yuki did seem to refrain herself just a little bit, handling her junior rather gently. Could she tell, then? “It’s just a quiet café. It’s not really busy on school days, especially not on club days. We have a friend who works there, too. I think she’d like to meet you—she’s kind of the shove behind Kurumi’s school efforts.”

“Hey, hey! What’re you tryin’ to say about me?” Both girls turned their heads towards the track captain, now standing in front of the bleachers and patting at her neck with a towel. “Yuki, don’t say it like that. You’re alone with a junior for five minutes and you’re already tryin’ to make me look bad.”

Yuki let go of Miki’s hand, a quiet giggle slipping as she shook her head.

“Don’t you think Miki should come with us? At least to meet Riisan too. I think she’d want to talk to the tutor she’s been trying to make you get for a while now.”

There was heat rushing to Kurumi’s face that wasn’t merely from running in the heat, that was for sure. Clearing her throat, Kurumi just seemed to pout and turned around, both hiding her face and making a move for a nearby water bottle to drink from.

“Yeah yeah…if she wants to. Don’t pressure her to tag along or nothin’, though. She doesn’t have t’come if she doesn’t wanna.”

Now Yuki was the one pouting. “I know! I was just offering. Isn’t that right, Miki-san?” Since when was she on some kind of first name basis with this girl? Yuki didn’t seem the type to waste much time getting too familiar with someone new. Miki averted her eyes and fidgeted with the ends of her skirt, not sure if she could get used to this much direct attention from such unfamiliar people.

“I mean…I guess I could.”

The response seemed to brighten Yuki’s face again.

“See? She said she wants to.”

Kurumi turned and gave Yuki a look, before glancing over at Miki with a more concerned expression.

“You sure?”

No, not really. “It’s fine.”

Kurumi looked almost skeptical about believing her. But the senior merely shook her head and shrugged, accepting the way things unfolded regardless. “A’right, cool. We’re wrapping up out here, so I’ll be a little while cleanin’ up, then we can go.”

With that, Kurumi jogged back out onto the field to wrangle her team up, leaving the two girls alone again.

“Where does your friend work?” Small talk? Miki looked over at Yuki just briefly, before looking out to the field again, and answering.

“A music shop, over in Rivercity Tron.”

“Oh, how cool! I drop by there once in a while. It’s a nice little store. Maybe I’ll run into her sometime.”

Miki kind of hoped not, honestly. The last thing she needed was someone for Kei to run her mouth about Miki to. She wasn’t sure what pride she had would survive someone else knowing too much about her.

“Kurumi told me that her first lesson with you went well.”

“Did she?”

“Mhm.” Yuki was quiet for a moment, pondering her next words. Finally, she stood up and gestured for Miki to follow her, before making her way off of the bleachers and towards the entrance doors into the gymnasium. They settled on waiting just inside the building, by the doors, Yuki leaning against the wall and watching the other students still in the gym clean up and rush into their respective locker rooms to get their clothes changed.

“Kurumi-chan is really a very…kind person.”

Miki looked over at Yuki, wondering faintly what brought up such a statement at all. But she didn’t say anything—Yuki didn’t seem to be done speaking.

“She’s not very good at showing it sometimes. She likes to help other students, she jokes around a lot, and she’s really friendly. Not everyone likes her much. Some of the track team don’t like her. Some of them have their own reasons, and the others just don’t like to be bossed around in general, I think. But…the Kurumi I know is a good girl.”

Why did she feel the need to say all this? Miki looked at her shoes, for a moment unsure of what to say.

Eventually, she did speak up. “How long have you been friends?”

“Oh, probably…hm, half a year? It hasn’t been that long. I had classes here and there with Kurumi and Riisan, but I’d never spoken to them until sometime this year. A teacher paired me with Riisan for a project; she was the first one I started speaking to, and Kurumi followed a little afterwards since they already knew each other.” Not as long of a friendship as their closeness would have led Miki to believe. If she had to guess, Miki would have assumed Kurumi and Yuki had known each other much longer than that.

“Kurumi can come off kind of rough sometimes. Maybe even distant, if she doesn’t know you well yet. I don’t think she means to, though.” Looking over at Miki, Yuki spared a soft smile. “I guess I just wanted to tell you that.”

“…I see. I’ll…I’ll keep that in mind.” Was she trying to make Miki feel better about hanging around Kurumi? Miki didn’t necessarily have a problem with her in the first place. Admittedly, however, her anxiety was great at convincing her otherwise.

It wasn’t much longer of a wait. Kurumi needed time to get a quick shower in and just a moment to change back into her school uniform but was soon back out to join the other two. With everything settled and everyone else on their way home or wherever else they needed to be, the trio were well on their way off campus and on the way to the busier districts of the city for this café Yuki mentioned. Nerve-wracking as a bus ride was, Miki couldn’t deny that it was more bearable with peers there, deliberately with her. Public transit was never impossible for the girl, but it wasn’t without its own special kind of stress.

But in no time at all, particularly when Yuki wouldn’t stop asking questions and bringing up topic and after topic during the entire trip, they finally arrived downtown, hopped off the bus, and found themselves at a quaint little café on the corner of the street.

“Here we are.”

“Let’s go, let’s go!”

“Don’t get so excited. It ain’t like you’re gonna surprise her. I already texted her that we were coming by.”

Now, that disappointed Yuki a comical amount. The shorter girl pouted at Kurumi but turned around nonetheless and opened the door to let her companions inside. Yuki wasn’t wrong about business—it was quiet inside, aside from the background music played at a low, bearable volume. There were a few students here and there, and maybe a businessman in the corner, but otherwise it was a slow afternoon.

“Our usual spot’s open.” Kurumi pointed at a nearby booth seat, making her way over. Yuki grabbed Miki’s hand, like a reflex, and pulled the junior along as she followed Kurumi. Yuki took a seat next to Kurumi, letting Miki have the other side to herself.

“Welcome—ah, oh!” There was a soft-spoken voice beside the table once the girls had settled in their seats. Turning her head, Miki caught sight of another girl, dressed in uniform, but had to be about the same age as Yuki and Kurumi. Long brown hair was tired up into a ponytail, and the notepad and pen in her hands made it abundantly clear she was a waitress here.

“Riisan~”

“Told ya we were on the way,” Kurumi said, smirking slightly at Yuuri.

“You did…honestly, I’d already forgotten. I got caught up with my tasks and didn’t think about it at all.”

“Eh, no sweat. I just didn’t want Yuki here tryin’ to surprise ya again. Not after last time.” Her hand firmly rested on top of Yuki’s hat, drawing a nervous giggle out of the girl in response. Yuuri only sighed, before waving her notepad at the notion dismissively. Her gaze soon fell to Miki, who quickly averted her eyes and cleared her throat, at a loss for an immediate explanation of why she was here with these two, despite it being a simple one. Spotlight had its way of wiping Miki’s train of thought entirely.

“This is Mii-kun.” Ah—oh no. Not that again.

“Don’t call me that!”

“Ehh, Yuki, calm down for a second,” Kurumi interjected, abruptly placing her hand over Yuki’s face in a startling gesture. Looking over at Yuuri, Kurumi shook her head, before gesturing to Miki.

“Naoki, Miki. Wakasa, Yuuri.” With the introduction out of the way, Kurumi folded her arms and leaned back in her seat. “Naoki-san is the tutor we told you about.”

Yuuri seemed surprised at the explanation. Perhaps it was the age. She must have expected someone the same age or a little older. Still, Yuuri smiled and offer a polite little bow.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you then, Naoki-san. When I heard that Kurumi had finally found some help, I can’t begin to relay how relieved I felt.”

“Oi, it wasn’t that dramatic.”

Kurumi’s interruption went completely ignored. “I try to help sometimes, but since I got this job, between this and my own studies I haven’t had the time.” Miki assumed Yuki was hardly an option to turn to, either. “I hope Kurumi hasn’t been too much trouble for you so far.”

“N-no, not at all.”

“Why’s everyone gotta talk about me like I’m a hot mess while I’m sittin’ _right here_?” With a quiet groan, Kurumi laid her head back and sighed.

“I wouldn’t have to, if you would quit acting like one so often.”

Kurumi picked her head back up and shot a glare at Yuuri. The stare she got in return, however, resulted in a quick aversion of Kurumi’s eyes back down to the table, and an abrupt atmosphere of…fear? Miki was pretty sure that was what she was getting from this interaction. Just what kind of person was Yuuri Wakasa?

“Since you’re all here, I assume you’d like to make some orders?”

Yuki was the first to chime in, with a thoughtful hum. “A slice of strawberry shortcake?”

Kurumi raised her hand briefly. “I’ll jus’ take a chocolate milkshake.”

“All right. And Naoki-san?”

Miki shook her head, feeling some embarrassment weigh down on her shoulders. Her mutter was barely audible really. “I didn’t…bring money today. I don’t need anything, really.”

Kurumi cleared her throat, waving her hand. “Hey, don’t worry about that. I’ll take care of it. Jus’ get what ya want.”

“Are…are you sure?”

“Yeah, of course.” Kurumi smirked, flashing a brief fang at Miki in the process. Perhaps being offered to be paid for was actually more embarrassing, but Miki did feel quite a bit of gratitude at the gesture.

“I’ll um…just take a small coffee then, with cream and sugar.”

“Understood. I’ll be right back with your orders.” Yuuri turned and walked off, leaving Yuki to gasp and stare at Miki with some kind of…unnecessary awe.

“Mii-kun drinks coffee? She’s already an adult!”

“N-no, I mean, I just…like it, once in a while.”

“Yuki, quit scarin’ the poor girl. You already startled her enough when you invited her.” Kurumi laughed, nudging Yuki’s arm with an elbow.

“But Kurumi—coffee! You can’t even handle that.”

“Hey! Didn’t I already tell ya to stop saying shit like that about me around our junior?” With a scowl, Kurumi playfully pushed her fist against Yuki’s head, Yuki simply getting into a more defensive posture as she whined.

“But it’s truuuuue!”

“ _ **Ahem**_.”

All the commotion seemed to come to a grinding halt at the noise. Kurumi and Yuki both looked towards the edge of the table, where Yuuri stood with a tray of what they asked for. Strange, Miki could swear she felt…exactly what it was the other two apparently had. A polite smile was persistent on Yuuri’s soft features, yet there was a terrifying, dark air about her as she stared the other two down.

It almost made Miki want to move to a different table and let Yuuri scold them in peace.

“I’m going to have to ask you two to settle down while you’re in here. Again.”

“Y-yes ma’am.” A synchronized response. Impressive. Yuuri set down everyone’s respective orders, as well as their bills. It seemed to calm down from there, the atmosphere relaxed again as Yuuri spoke with Kurumi and Yuki about their days, and even shared a bit of information with Miki. The maternal air of this rather strange trio of friends, no doubt. That explained why these two were still grounded as they were, at least. The trip wasn’t a disaster—Miki felt that much. If she were bolder, perhaps she would admit, it was a little bit fun, tagging along with them. But she wasn’t quite sure about that yet. She made it through, at least, until their snacks were paid for, and they were on their way out of the building with their goodbyes to Yuuri.

“I gotta make a detour on my way home. Errands.” Kurumi looked over at Yuki and Miki. “You two gonna be okay by yourselves? Er—well what I mean is are you gonna be okay with her, Naoki-san?”

Miki ignored the brief noise of complaint from Yuki at the question, and simply nodded. With a wave, Kurumi left in the other direction, while Yuki and Miki started towards the residential district.

“Well? Did you have fun, Mii-kun?”

“…sure. It was nice, actually.”

“Heh, good. It’s pretty slow during this time of day, mostly on school days. If you ever want to take your friend with you there, that’d be a good time to do it.”

“I see…thank you.” Odd. She really was seemingly paying heed to Miki’s aversion to other people. Something along those lines.

“Something on your mind?”

“No! No…just…you three are…a very odd combination. Ah—no offense.”

Yuki stared at Miki for a moment, before laughing quietly and nodding. “We are, aren’t we?”

Silence followed, though not entirely unpleasant. Miki was still pondering her day, after all. She still wondered about these girls, and about Kurumi and Yuki in particular. She wasn’t sure exactly what all she couldn’t figure out about them. Maybe everything. She wasn’t even sure why they left such a…persistent impression on her in the first place.

Briefly, Miki looked around. They were getting close to her neighborhood, at least. She could finally settle down in her home, do a few chores, and maybe relax a little bit.

“Miki seems like a really nice girl.”

“Huh?” Blinking, Miki looked over at Yuki. She stopped walking as Yuki had, eyes tracking the girl’s movements as she moved in front of Miki and offered a friendly, oddly bright smile.

“You should hang out with us again soon. Maybe even when your friend’s available too. But, if you ever need any help or anything, just let me know, okay? You still have my number, right?”

“I…yes, I do.”

“Good! Then just keep it in mind, okay? That’s what friends are for, right?”

All Miki could offer in return was a blank, surprised stare. Still, Yuki seemed content with that, nodding with a passing, playful wink before taking Miki’s hand and pulling her along again.

“Let’s get you home, then. We probably exhausted poor Mii-kun today.”

“S-sure…?” She was still reeling a little bit, she had to admit. Friends…wasn’t that a bit of a bold statement to make?

Miki wasn’t sure what all had been happening to her usual, quiet life these past few days, much less how she felt about these new faces that had been pushed into her life. It didn’t feel like life was going to slow down enough to let her figure it out, either.


End file.
